Latest news with #SRavindraBhat
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
SC-constituted task force on suicide prevention visits NIT
Trichy: The Supreme Court-constituted national task force (NTF) to address mental health concerns among students and prevent suicides in higher educational institutions across the country visited the National Institute of Technology, Trichy, on Wednesday. It will visit Bharathidasan University on Thursday. The team led by former Supreme Court judge S Ravindra Bhat and seven other members was formed after the apex court, in March this year, expressed concern over the increasing frequency of student suicides in education institutions, especially premier ones. At NIT-T, the team members inspected the campus and interacted with faculty members and students. "The team will submit an observation report with recommendations, if any, to us. The findings will also be included in the final report to be submitted to the Supreme Court," NIT-T director G Aghila told TOI. NIT-T and IIM-T reported a student suicide each in May this year, within three-day interval. Suicides have also been recorded in several private institutions. Parents, students, faculty members and other stakeholders can also respond to an anonymous survey in an online portal of the task force. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If you have a mouse, play this game for 1 minute Navy Quest Undo Meanwhile, VC committee member of Bharathidasan University V Rajesh Kannan confirmed that the team will visit the university on Thursday. IIM-T director Pawan Kumar Singh said they have not received any intimation of a visit by the team so far. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
SC-constituted mental health task force launches outreach website to tackle student suicides
NEW DELHI: The National Task Force on Mental Health, constituted by the Supreme Court of India to address the alarming rise in student suicides in higher education institutions, launched its official website — — on Friday. The website will serve as a key platform to gather data, conduct multilingual surveys, analyse systemic issues, and engage with stakeholders including students, parents, teachers, mental health professionals and the public. The 18-member task force, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd) S Ravindra Bhat, was set up following a March 2025 apex court directive that acknowledged with 'deep concern' the growing number of suicides across universities, colleges and even institutions of national importance. The Court had tasked the body with identifying root causes such as discrimination, ragging, academic stress, mental health stigma, and financial pressures, and recommending systemic reforms to prevent such tragedies. At the website launch event, Justice Bhat said: 'The Supreme Court recognised the urgency of addressing student suicides, and our responsibility is to reach the root of each factor pushing students to such extremes. The surveys now live on the website are a crucial step in gathering real voices from institutions across India.' He added that the task force has already begun institutional visits in both metropolitan and smaller cities, and has been analysing previous studies and reports. The portal hosts questionnaires in English and Hindi, enables higher education institutions to upload data on suicides, support mechanisms, and grievance redressal systems, and provides helpline resources. Secretary of the department of higher education, Vineet Joshi, said that the task force has been actively consulting stakeholders over the past few months and has now accelerated efforts through targeted feedback collection. 'This task force, with the higher education department as the nodal agency, is committed to ensuring that no student life is lost due to preventable causes. India has over 60,000 higher education institutions with 4.46 crore enrolled students and 16 lakh faculty members. The scale demands robust mental health systems and safe learning environments,' Joshi said. The task force's first meeting was held on March 29. It is expected to submit its interim report by the end of September and the final report by year-end. The team has also consulted mental health experts and reviewed existing policies to assess the effectiveness of current welfare frameworks and suggest institutional reforms aimed at creating supportive academic ecosystems.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Task force to address student suicides seeking stakeholder views through online surveys
New Delhi, The national taskforce appointed by the Supreme Court to address mental health concerns of students and prevent suicides in higher educational institutions is seeking views of various stakeholders through online survey questionnaires, officials said on Friday. Task force to address student suicides seeking stakeholder views through online surveys The taskforce is also visiting various institutions of higher education across the country to gather views and suggestions, they said. The taskforce launched its website on Friday on which all the surveys for students, parents, faculty members, mental health service providers and general public are available. "The institutional visits involve interactions with various stakeholders such as students, faculty members, administrators, and members of various committees tasked with grievance redressal. The interactions take into consideration the intersectional identities of the students and involve meeting students from various disadvantaged sections of society," Justice S Ravindra Bhat, a former Supreme Court judge who is heading the task force, said. "In addition, students are invited to attend open fora to express their views to the taskforce members. The taskforce is also looking into infrastructure and services for preventing student distress and enhancing student wellbeing," Bhat added. Higher education secretary Vineet Joshi said the taskforce is also meeting various subject matter experts and stakeholders from various sections of society working for suicide prevention and student wellbeing to get in-depth insights into the various issues. "This is in addition to the review of existing data and literature on the subject, including reports, publications and media reports. The taskforce is also seeking views of the stakeholders through online survey questionnaires. These will be filled by students in higher educational institutions, parents of such students, faculty members, and mental health service providers. "Available in English and Hindi, these surveys seek responses from students who are enrolled in higher educational institutions in India. In addition, there are institutional surveys that seek information from entities that form the ecosystem of higher educational institutions in India. "The surveys include questions on academic stressors, systemic discrimination, available support, nature of discrimination faced, grievance redressal mechanisms, etc.," Joshi said. The institutes are also being asked to share data on reported suicides, preventive measures taken and grievance redressals. The Supreme Court in March issued directions concerning the prevention of student suicides in higher educational institutions, which underscored the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address mental health concerns among students. The top court constituted a national task force under the chairmanship of Justice Bhat, along with other experts from various domains as members, to discuss and deliberate on issues related to mental health concerns among students, the prevention of suicides in educational institutions, and to recommend preventive measures. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
